Mapping festival adaptations to COVID-19: A quantitative review

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the creative economy. With restrictions placed on live events, many festivals were cancelled. However, some festivals were able to adapt and survive the pandemic.

Objectives: The research tracked festival survival and responses to the pandemic for the period 2020–2022 at the national level in South Africa.

Method: Using 2019 as a pre-COVID base year, a database of South African cultural festivals was created, and their response to each pandemic year was captured. This dataset was then mapped using geographic information systems (GIS). To determine the factors that influenced festival survival during this period, an econometric model was created.

Results: Initially, virtual adaptation strategies were the most common. However, in 2021, lockdown measures began to ease, allowing for more hybrid and live responses. Despite this, approximately half of all festivals found in 2019 were cancelled over the period, and some did not survive. Results of the econometric modelling showed that the main factor determining survival was whether a festival pivoted to a digital adaptation strategy.

Conclusion: There has been a shift in festival responses to the pandemic over time. While undertaking a digital adaptation was important to festival survival because of continuity, there is a strong preference for live events. Festivals that invested in successful virtual adaptations will likely maintain a hybrid element going forward.

Contribution: Previous studies have taken an in-depth qualitative case study approach to understanding festival responses to the pandemic. This research quantitatively examined festival survival and adaptation strategies nationally.